Display device



'S ept. 10, 1946. E, ATHEN 2,407,592

DISPLAY DEVICE Filed Feb. 28, 1944 1 INVENTOR. [PA [Jr Zia/1st min-15 '.BY Aw Patented Sept. 10, 1946 DISPLAY DEVICE Ernest Leslie Wathen, Rocky River, Ohio, assignor to The Strobridge Lithographing Company, Cincinnati, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application February 28, 1944, Serial No. 524,227

1 Claim.

This invention relates to that class of display devices, used especially for advertising purposes, that are constructed of cardboard and are attractively lithographed or printed and, in use, are adapted to be wrapped and transported, singly, by mail. Upon reaching their destination, the devices are opened and stood on counters, in windows, or in similar places.

It is the primary purpose of my invention to provide a simple and inexpensive, yet very attractive and substantial display device of the above mentioned class that is fabricated of cardboard, or other suitable material, and comprises two main members, the first, a display panel to which advertising or other matter may be applied, as by lithography or printing, and, the second, a combined wrapper and easel that is permanently connected to said panel. By virtue of its construction, there is practically no waste of material in either the manufacture of the device, or in the preparation of the device for use; there are no disconnected parts to contend with or parts that have to be discarded; wrapping is greatly facilitated, and the manner of opening and setting up the device are self -evident and convenient. Furthermore, time is saved that would otherwise be required for packing the device; the expense of the usual container or wrapper is avoided, and shipping weight is reduced.

A more specific object of the invention is the production of a device of the aforesaid character comprising a member consisting of a collapsible display panel, and a second member consisting of a combined wrapper and easel that is made of stiff sheet material and is larger in area than said panel and is permanently connected along its opposite edges to the corresponding edges of the panel and into which the panel is collapsed or folded and by which the latter is concealed and protected when the device is closed and fastened for mailing. Upon the device subsequently being opened, the second member is expanded which automatically disposes the panel in display position. Bracing means, desirably consisting of an integral part or parts of the second member, are included to hold the device in expanded condition.

Objects and advantages additional to the foregoing will appear in the course of the following description wherein reference is made to th accompanying drawing forming a part hereof and in which like reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.

In the drawing, Fig. 1 is a perspective view from the front, and Fig. 2 a similar view from 2 q i the rear, of a display device constructed in ac cordance with the invention; Fig. 3 is a perspec-- tive view of said device conditioned for mailing, and Fig. 4 is a plan view of a modification.

In both forms of the invention, the device comprises two main members designated, generally, by the reference letters A and'B, the former con-'- stituting the display panel, and the latter, a combined wrapper and easel. With reference to the latter member, it might be well to explain that it is termed a wrapper because, when the device is conditioned for mailing, said member B infolds or envelops the display panel or member A and is, therefore, for all intents and purposes, a wrap-' per for the display panel or member A. When the device is in use, the member B serves as an easel to support the display panel in upright po sition. This dual function of the member B will become more evident as the description proceeds.

In the construction illustrated in Figs. 1 to 3, the display panel I is formed from the central portion of. a continuous strip of stiff sheet material or cardboard. The strip is scored or otherwise treated in accordance with common practice, to provide bending lines that define the lateral edges of the panel, and the portions 2 and 3, in opposite directions beyond the panel, are turned back in acute angular relation to the panel and the ends of said portions are glued or otherwise fastened together. To describe the present preferred form of connection between the portions 2 and 3 in greater detail, the portion 2 is scored or similarly treated to define a bending line 5 parallel to and near its end remote from the panel, and the resultant tab 4 is arranged to overlie the adjacent end of the portion 3. By reason of the construction above described, the portions 2 and 3 may be folded toward each other in book fashion. The panel I is scored or otherwise treated along a line 6 substantially midway between and parallel to its lateral edges so that it is rendered collapsible and may fold into the space between the portions 2 and 3. Fig. 3 illustrates the device in folded condition with the forward edges of the portions 2 and 3 fastened together by a suitable binder I which, for convenience, may consist of a strip of gummed paper, a piece of so-called Scotch tape, or the like. If means for positively bracing the device in expanded con-- dition is to be included, it may consist of a tongue 8 that is struck from the portion 3 but remains within the plane thereof until the device is conditioned for use. Folded, and fastened by the binder l, in the manner described, the device may panel I, the parts being desirably proportioned and arranged so that the end of said tongue extends across the bending line 6 and overlaps both parts of the panel so as to provide better :support or backing for the panel.

Obviously, the connection between the ends of the continuous strip from which the device is connomes 10 end bearing firmly against the rear .side of the structed may be located adjacent one of the lateral edges of the display panel I, as shown in Fig. 6, instead of at the junction of the portions 2 and 3.

In the construction illustrated in Fig. 4, .as in the former case,the members Aand B are scored midway between and .parallel to their lateral edges to define the respective bending lines 6 and 5 sothat the panel'may be collapsedand the portions 2 and 3 folded together in book fashion to enclose the panel. In the present embodiment a bracing member or tongue 8 may be struck from each of the portions 2* and 3 and they are adapt- 7 ed to be turned in against the panel I in order to hold the device expanded and the panel straight.

Havin thus described my invention, what I claim is: V

A device of the class described constructed of a single strip of stiiT sheet material of uniform width from end .to end, the ends :of said strip being connected together, a portion of said strip being set 01f by parallel bending lines that define the lateral edges of a display panel, the entire area of the panel being available for display purposes said panel having a bending line intermediate and parallel to the former bending lines, the remaining portion of the strip being of greater length than the panel and constituting a combined wrapper and'easel member treated substantially midway between it junction with the lateral edges of the panel to provide a bending line substantially parallel to said edges whereby the panel and member may be folded book fashion with the panel contained within and completely encased by the member, and bracing means consisting of one or more tongues struck from said member and adapted to be turned from the plane thereof and frictionally engaged with the" rear side of the panel to hold the device expanded.

ERNEST LESLIE WATHEN. 

